Kentucky opened the game by giving up a deep three to Ohio State’s sharpshooter John Mobley Jr., who shoots an impressive 53% from beyond the arc. Mobley missed his next two attempts, and Jaxson Robinson responded with a three-pointer of his own. Thanks to a couple of electrifying dunks from Lamont Butler and Andrew Carr, the Cats took an 8-7 lead heading into the first TV timeout.

Ohio State capitalized on a two-minute scoring drought by Kentucky to regain the lead, but Koby Brea nailed a three to tie the game at 16 by the under-12 timeout. Ansley Almonor briefly restored Kentucky’s edge with a free throw, but the Buckeyes quickly answered with a mid-range jumper. The teams traded baskets in a scrappy stretch, neither looking particularly sharp. Ohio State led 22-21 at the under-8 timeout, with Kentucky poised to inbound.

Head coach Mark Pope, speaking during the timeout, noted the defense was late rotating to help but remained optimistic they’d adjust as the game progressed. However, things didn’t go as planned. A shot clock violation followed by an Andrew Carr turnover allowed Ohio State to extend their lead. Butler then picked up his second foul on a push-off, leaving the Cats down three with 5:30 left in the half.

The Buckeyes began to dictate the tempo while Kentucky went ice-cold offensively. An Amari Williams layup at the nine-minute mark was the Cats’ last field goal for nearly nine minutes. Ohio State stretched their lead to seven, prompting Pope to burn a timeout with just over 4:20 remaining.

Otega Oweh broke the drought with two free throws, but Aaron Bradshaw responded with a dagger three to put Ohio State up 31-23 at the under-4 timeout. The Buckeyes pushed their lead to 10, though Kentucky chipped away when Bradshaw fouled Carr on a three-point attempt. Carr sank all three free throws, narrowing the deficit to seven.

Williams finally broke the field goal dry spell with a thunderous dunk, but Ohio State kept control, extending the lead back to nine. A Jaxson Robinson, who was 2-7 from the floor in the first half, airball on Kentucky’s final possession of the half sent the Cats to the locker room trailing 39-30. Ohio State took 4 more shots and made 9 more than the Cats in the first half. If not for 12 FTs the Cats would be in deep, deep trouble. Andrew Carr led the way in scoring with 9, but grabbed 0 rebounds. Oweh was next up with 6, all from the free throw line as he missed every shot from the field 0-4.

Kentucky needs to regroup quickly to avoid letting this game slip further out of reach.

Full Stats from the 1st half:

Kentucky Wildcats | Ohio State Buckeyes
FG: 8-23 | 17-27
Field Goal %: 34.8 | 63.0
3PT: 2-11 | 2-7
Three Point %: 18.2 | 28.6
FT: 12-16 | 3-3
Free Throw %: 75.0 | 100.0
Rebounds: 13 | 13
Offensive Rebounds: 4 | 1
Defensive Rebounds: 9 | 12
Assists: 6 | 10
Steals: 3 | 3
Blocks: 0 | 1
Total Turnovers: 5 | 3
Points Off Turnovers: 2 | 6
Fast Break Points: 2 | 4
Points in Paint: 10 | 24
Fouls: 6 | 10

The start of the second half didn’t inspire much confidence for Kentucky, as Ohio State quickly pushed their lead to 15 points. A switch to a 1-3-1 defense helped the Cats regain some composure, and three free throws from Otega Oweh trimmed the deficit back to single digits. Moments later, an and-one from Andrew Carr cut it to nine.

But instead of gaining momentum, the Cats lost ground in the first four minutes, allowing Ohio State to rebuild a 12-point advantage by the under-16 timeout. Kentucky needed to turn things around fast, trailing 51-39.

Koby Brea brought the Kentucky faithful to life by draining a three to bring it back to single digits. The crowd roared louder after another and-one play from Oweh slashed the lead to six with 14 minutes to go. Sensing the shift, Ohio State called a timeout to regroup—and it worked.

The Buckeyes nailed a quick three out of the break, and Jaxson Robinson missed a wide-open layup, letting Ohio State push the lead back to 13. Adding insult to injury, an and-one extended it to 14.

The Cats fought back again with two free throws from Lamont Butler, cutting the lead to eight, 59-51, with 12 minutes left. It felt like a pivotal moment—the Cats needed to win the next four minutes.

Unfortunately, that’s not what happened. Back-to-back turnovers and a wild missed layup from Oweh stalled Kentucky’s momentum. The Cats continued forcing drives into traffic, but Ohio State’s defense held firm, and the Buckeyes capitalized, stretching the lead to 15. The Cats made another push to cut it to 9 with 6 to go, but it was just never enough to really be in the game. It was 72-61 at the under 4 timeout.

In the end, the hill was just too steep to climb. Ohio State controlled the tempo and closed the door on any comeback attempt. Final score: 85-65, a disappointing night for the Cats and their fans.

Team Stats

Kentucky Wildcats | Ohio State Buckeyes
FG: 17-57 | 30-53
Field Goal %: 29.8 | 56.6
3PT: 4-22 | 4-15
Three Point %: 18.2 | 26.7
FT: 27-32 | 21-27
Free Throw %: 84.4 | 77.8
Rebounds: 32 | 35
Offensive Rebounds: 13 | 7
Defensive Rebounds: 19 | 28
Assists: 11 | 12
Steals: 6 | 8
Blocks: 3 | 3
Total Turnovers: 10 | 7
Points Off Turnovers: 10 | 11
Fast Break Points: 7 | 4
Points in Paint: 24 | 36
Fouls: 20 | 22
Largest Lead: 4 | 20

Stars of the night

1. Andrew Carr

Without Carr the Cats floundered, and he really was the only offensive star for the Cats, and he wasnt great. Carr finished the game with 12 points 4 rebounds 2 assists 1 block.

2. Otega Oweh

Oweh struggled from the field just 4-13, but was perfect from the line, 13-13. Oweh finished the game with 21 points 2 rebounds 1 steal.